Pros

Cons

No display. Requires tool to switch bands.

Bottom Line

The Misfit Ray combines top-notch fitness and sleep tracking with one of the best-looking designs we've seen.

Aug. 8, 2016Chris Fernando

The Misfit Ray is the most comfortable and stylish fitness tracker I've tested. It makes up for its lack of a display with accurate measurements of your activity and sleep, customisable bands, and useful extras, like the ability to remotely control your phone and smart lighting. It's one of the top picks for the fashion conscious.

The Ray is a modular device with a central tracking component you can switch between bands to match your outfit. The tracker portion is a tiny cylinder made of brushed matte aluminum that measures 1.5 inches long, 0.5-inch around, and weighs 8.5-gms. It comes in black, green, navy, white, stainless steel, or rose gold with a silicone band for $99.99, or with a leather band for $119.99.

Double-loop leather bands or drop necklaces are also available for $29.99 apiece. I tested the leather band rose gold model. The adjustable strap is one of the most comfortable ones I've worn. The Ray is one of the few trackers that's actually comfortable to wear while sleeping. And as mentioned, the bands themselves are swappable, though they require an additional tool.

Still, it's not quite as simple as just popping the tracker out of one band and into another as you're running out the door. There's no display to view your progess like you'll find on many trackers in this price range. Instead, there is a lone LED that blinks various colours in conjunction with a vibration motor depending on the situation.

If you haven't been moving much, the Ray will blink red and vibrate. When it's time to wake up, it will blink purple and vibrate. If you're getting a phone call on your connected device, the Ray will blink green and vibrate. Texts are blue. You can double-tap the Ray to view your activity progress: Red is a quarter of the way to your daily goal, orange is half, and purple means you've reached it.

The tracker is powered by three replaceable 393 button cell batteries (included) that last four to six months depending on usage. If you receive a lot of calls and other phone notifications, the Ray will expire quicker. Still, that's a longer life than most fitness trackers, which typically last about a week.

The Ray is rated 5ATM for water resistance, which means it can go up to 164 feet underwater. It's not meant for diving, but you can wear it for laps in the pool and afterwards in the shower.

The Misfit Ray pairs via Bluetooth 4.0 with Android and iOS devices. I connected it to a Huawei Mate 8 smartphone. Setup was smooth and quick. Once configured, the Ray will automatically pair with your device whenever it's in range.

The app is the same one used with other Misfit devices, like the Flash Link and Shine. Keep in mind you'll be using it a lot, since the Ray lacks a display. The home screen shows you a score based on your activity goal, which you can set in the Goals page; I stuck with the default suggested setting of 1,000 points.

The app does a solid job suggesting how you can accomplish your goal. For example, it told me that I can walk for an hour and a half or run for 30 minutes to meet expectations. You can also view your calories burned, miles traveled, and steps taken on the home screen. Scroll down and you'll see a more detailed timeline for all of your activities accomplished during the day, including sleep data and activites, which are tracked automatically.

Equipped with a 3-axis accelerometer, the Ray's tracking proved accurate in testing. The Ray records how long you are active, and you can later designate the type of activity you were doing in the app. The Ray also automatically tracked every jog, run, and walk I did, which I was then later able to identify. Misfit gives you a good assortment of activities to choose from, including basketball, cycling, running, soccer, swimming, tennis, and walking.

In addition to steps and acitivty, the Ray automatically tracks sleep extremely well. It analyzes light and deep sleep periods, as well as awake times, and you can see the total amount of time for each type. I wore the Ray for a week and found the data it collected about my sleeping habits to be accurate (at least as far as I can tell in my waking life).

The Ray also works with the Misfit Link app, which allows you to trigger various functions by triple-tapping the tracker. For instance, you can use it to find your connected phone (the phone will buzz or ring), control music (Play/Pause, Next, Previous), toggle your phone's camera shutter, or even turn the Misfit Bolt Connected Smart Bulb on or off. All of these actions worked perfectly in testing, and can become surprisingly useful.

It's not an overstatement to say that the Misfit Ray is by far the best-looking fitness tracker I've seen so far. It's also comfortable to wear, and offers accurate tracking capabilities for your steps and sleep. It's one of the only fitness trackers I'd recommend to style aficionados.